Herobrine's Message (32 page)

“What're you talking about?” exclaimed Leonidas, taken aback. “I mean . . . okay, man, I'm gonna level with you. Since we've met, ya haven't been very helpful to us in the fightin' department, but you've done other stuff! I mean, it was your idea to tunnel under the wall to get into Element City! Where's this idea that you've done more bad for us than good comin' from?”

Charlie looked Leonidas in the face. “Leonidas, can I tell you something? And if I do, do you swear you won't tell anybody else?”

“Sure, man,” Leonidas replied, genuinely concerned now. “What is it?”

Charlie took a deep breath. There were tears streaming down his face, and his features expressed more pain and disappointment in himself than Leonidas had ever seen. There was a moment of silence, only broken by the scuffle of troops down the cave preparing for battle, as Charlie prepared to reveal his darkest secret.

“I'm the reason that the Noctem Alliance found this cave. I told Drake where the entrance was when he was torturing me on the Mushroom Islands.”

Leonidas's jaw dropped. He looked at Charlie, hardly able
to believe what he had just heard, as Charlie rambled on, sobs interspersed with his choked-up speech now.

“I didn't want to. . . . I held out for as long as I could, trying to endure the pain that those savages put me through in that prison. The last thing I wanted was to give them what they wanted, our secret war plans . . . but then they started on my legs . . . it was unbearable, Leonidas. They forced my legs into a pit full of silverfish and told me that the only way out was to tell them where the secret bunker was . . . the little monsters started to chew at my legs, gnawing away . . . it was too much, I had to make it stop. . . . so I told them.

“I should've held out. I should've died, rather than to tell them where the bunker was. I mean, Crunch held out fine. He just shook it off, the way I couldn't. . . . And now, because of me, we're all in danger. They forced us to move before we were ready, and throw together this half-baked assault that'll cause who knows how many of our fighters to die. And I can't even fight on the battlefield alongside my friends to make up for my mistake.”

As Charlie finished, Leonidas stared at him. He was utterly speechless. There was no anger in the stare, no exasperation, not even shock. Only sympathy shone on Leonidas's face as he absorbed everything that Charlie had just told him.

Charlie said nothing. He looked down at the ground
again, gave a heavy sigh, and proceeded to limp away from the crack in the cave wall toward Ben and Bob, leaving Leonidas standing alone.

“Look at them all.”

“I'm sorry?” Cassandrix replied, looking up from the iron boots she was pulling on to look over at Kat, who was already armored up with Rex sitting beside her, watching a large group of players load up their own gear. Judging by their mostly leather armor, they were lower-level players. Despite the fact that the army had distributed the armor for the battle, it had somehow occurred that the lower-level players had gotten the weaker armor (not that Kat or anyone else had time to fix this inequity).

“I can't believe that those players are being forced into combat,” Kat replied sadly.

“They haven't been forced!” Cassandrix replied vehemently. “Bob and Ben have made it very clear that only the soldiers are required to take part in the invasion. All others are volunteers. Those players wouldn't be part of the invasion if they didn't want to be.”

“Yeah, well, they might as well have been forced into it,” Kat spat in disgust. “I mean, sure, we didn't outright say that they had to, but what would happen if we lose? What would happen to the lower-level players? What would they have to
come back to? Face it, Cassandrix, those players aren't fighting because they want to. They're fighting because they're afraid of what will happen if they don't.”

“Honestly, darling,” Cassandrix laughed, rolling her eyes. Kat's ears perked up in alarm, as they did whenever Cassandrix used the word
darling.
“You're acting like putting lower-level players into combat is the worst thing in the world . . . as if the little brats shouldn't have to fight, just because they're new and inexperienced. Well, Kat, darling, I have a question for you: If they don't fight, then however are they going to
gain
experience?”

There was a moment of silence as Kat stared at Cassandrix.

“Exactly,” Cassandrix continued. “You need to stop holding the hands of the lower-level players, Kat, or they'll never learn anything for themselves. Why, I never had a group of upper-level players looking after me when I first joined Elementia—there
were
no upper-level players! But did that stop me from taking part in the Terramist War? No, of course not! I fought that war, and in doing so, not only did I help to establish the original Kingdom of Elementia, but I also learned the skills of Minecraft by myself!”

Cassandrix looked smugly at Kat, as if positive that there would be nothing that Kat could say that would pass over her insurmountable wall of logic. However, Kat merely
returned a knowing smile.

“So, let me get this straight, Cassandrix: You took part in a war when you were a new player, and that's how you learned to fight so well?”

“That is correct, dear.”

“Okay, okay. And Cassandrix . . . during that war . . . how many times did you die, and spawn back in your warm, comfortable bed?”

“Well . . . to be honest, there was more than one time that I found myself dead, and respawned.”

“And if you were in that same scenario today—if you were a new player, and you took part in a war with no combat experience—what would happen to you if you died?”

There was no reply. They both knew what happened if a player was killed in Elementia today.

“Cassandrix, I have no problem with the way that you learned how to play Minecraft, and I even see where you're coming from,” Kat said pointedly, “but the world has changed. The rules of the server are different from when you were a new player. If new players today make one wrong move, they'll be kicked out of Elementia with no second chance, so I don't see the harm in helping them out a bit. Just keep that in mind.”

And with that, Kat stood up and walked down the tunnel toward the makeshift armory, Rex following behind her, leaving a speechless Cassandrix in their wake.

All throughout the night, preparations went on for the invasion of the Adorian Village. By morning, everyone was ready. All leaders, soldiers, and volunteers were brimming with armor and weaponry. Charlie was staying behind in the cave, to watch over those players who didn't have enough armor, or were too weak from hunger to fight. At the break of dawn (according to the single golden clock that somebody had managed to take into the underground with them), the fighting forces of Elementia congregated around a section of cave wall. This particular wall was covered with ladders leading up to the roof of the cave. The group of players was clustered around one specific ladder, which had been designated the night before.

Before long, a cheer erupted from the crowd. President Stan was climbing the selected ladder, and when he reached the halfway point, he jumped off and onto a nearby ledge of coal ore blocks that was jutting out from the wall. He was wearing a smile ear to ear. In the night, a wonderful, unexpected surprise had befallen them, which he was happy to share with his citizens who were as of yet unaware.

“My citizens, at long last, the day that we've been awaiting for weeks is finally here. In a few minutes, we will burst into the Adorian Village, swarm the streets, and drive the
forces of the Noctem Alliance out, taking a giant leap toward returning control of Elementia to its rightful, elected rulers!”

Another round of applause and shouts of admiration erupted from the crowd.

“I cannot thank you enough for your patience, endurance, and valor, my citizens. I am fully aware of how difficult your lives have been since the Noctem Alliance declared war on Elementia months ago. However, by the end of today, all our pain and toil will finally come to fruition when we raise the colors of Elementia over the Town Hall of the Adorian Village!

“Now, my citizens,” Stan continued, the roar of the crowd dying instantly as they realized he had more to say, “I have a very exciting announcement. In the middle of the night, a very special player came to us. He arrived in our cave after trekking for days across the server, avoiding Noctem forces, and taking another few days to find the entrance to our cave. He is a good friend of mine, and a loyal leader of yours. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome back Councilman Jayden!”

The applause rumbled through the cave as Jayden climbed up the ladder and took his place on the ledge next to Stan. It was amazing, he thought, that so many of the people were happy to see him. Most of them hardly knew who he was, yet they were as excited to see him as Stan, Kat, Charlie, and the others had been the previous night. He supposed that
that was simply an added benefit of being friends with Stan.

“Okay now, everybody be quiet!” Stan commanded, and the crowd immediately complied. “Councilman Jayden has agreed to join our assault as a general, even after his long journey. As such, you are to do what he says and follow his commands the same as you would myself or any of my comrades. Now, prepare to mobilize, troops. When I give the signal, swarm up the ladders, through the ground, and into the streets!”

And with that, Stan climbed up the ladder, Jayden directly below him, ascending higher and higher toward the roof of the cave and leaving the electric energy of the troops below him as he vanished into the dark belfry of the cave.

A
fter Stan had been totally enveloped by the darkness in the upper dome of the cave, it wasn't long until he reached the ceiling above him. He looked upward and aimed a punch at the block directly overhead. The sound of his fist on the wooden block reverberated through the spacious cave, sending the scattered bats that had been nesting in the darkness flying down to where he had just come from.

Stan looked down at Jayden, who was still clinging to the ladder beneath his feet. “Give me the potion,” he ordered.

Jayden complied, reaching into his inventory and handing it up to Stan, who pocketed it carefully. Aside from the joy that Jayden's return had brought to Stan and his friends, they were also elated that he had managed to sneak a few potions out of Nocturia. The Potions of Slowness, in particular, were of vital importance to the first part of their plan.

Stan drew out a diamond axe, and for a moment, he allowed himself to relish in the feeling of completion that washed over him as he held his choice weapon back in his hand. DZ's diamond sword (now sitting in a chest in the mine; he had plans for it later) had served him well on his odyssey to return to Elementia, but there was no feeling in the world like having an
axe clutched in his hand. Wasting no more time, Stan drew back the axe and shattered the wood block above him in two strokes.

He pulled himself up and through the opening and found himself in the main room of a house. Stan grinned. Charlie's aim had been spot on when he had calculated where to dig the hole. Stan turned around and pulled Jayden out of the hole, and they surveyed the house. It was plain, with hardly any outstanding features, just a cobblestone counter with a dispenser on it, some potted plants, and wood plank–block walls with glass window panes. Outside the windows, Stan could see the streets of the Adorian Village.

This was Stan's first time in the village since it was reopened, and very little had changed in that time. After the Battle for Elementia, Stan had immediately delegated a team to rebuild the burned-down village. It looked largely the same now as it did then—houses similar to those in an NPC village, gravel roadways, and a brick Town Hall in the center. However, there were two major differences that struck Stan as he surveyed the village in the early light of dawn.

The first was the wall. Thinking that it was wise to defend the village against any more attackers, Stan had ordered a cobblestone wall to be built around the village, fortified with the Mechanist's redstone defenses (though not nearly as impenetrable as the Element City wall had been). Stan could
see the top of the wall over the houses of the village. Several Noctem troopers were patrolling the top of the barricade, their black armor silhouetted against the sunrise. That was the second change. Even at this early hour, Stan could see Noctem soldiers standing guard at the corners of the stone-block sidewalks, and platoons of troops marching through the streets.

Suddenly, Stan became acutely aware of footsteps over his head. He turned around just as a player burst into the room from up a flight of wooden stairs that he hadn't noticed before. This player was skinned as if she was planning on attending a disco party, with a tie-dye shirt, pink shorts, and rainbow tights. The bright colors bore a sharp contrast to the black tunic on her head.

“Who do you think you—” she started to demand, but was cut off when the bottle of potion Stan had thrown shattered on her face. Slowly, her eyes slid out of focus, and a slurred “intruders” slid out of her mouth before she slumped to the ground, unconscious. Stan was relieved that the potions Jayden had snagged were so strong; they had plenty of time to take her back down into the mine and imprison her until the battle was over.

Stan gestured to Jayden, who hoisted the limp body of the unconscious player over his shoulder and descended back into the mine. Moments later, he reemerged, and a line of other players followed him up the ladder and into the house.

“Charlie's got her in a holding prison, along with all the others we had to knock out,” Jayden said to Stan. “Phase one went off without a hitch. We now have troops in houses all over the village, and when you give the signal, we attack.”

Stan was beside himself. He couldn't believe that the plan was progressing so flawlessly. He reminded himself to thank Charlie the next time they met up; without his amazing mining prowess, they never would've been able to calculate so precisely where to make the tunnels. Stan's only regret was that they hadn't been able to dig under the Town Hall, which was their primary target—the floor was made of obsidian. However, that was a minor concern. With an ambush this size, Stan was confident that they would be able to overpower the Noctem forces; after all, most of them were still in Element City, according to their spies.

He realized, with a start, that he was being watched; the eyes of all soldiers in the room were fixated on Stan, awaiting his command. Stan took a deep breath and drew his axe. The time had come to take back the Adorian Village.

“Give the word to start the assault!” Stan bellowed down into the hole they had just climbed out of.

“Roger that!” Charlie's voice echoed up out of the mines.

Within seconds, Stan could hear yells and shouts outside, immediately followed by the clash of blades and a series of explosions. With a war cry, the soldiers in his house rushed out
the door, Jayden at the helm. With one last deep breath, Stan let out his own battle cry as he charged out into the streets.

It was pandemonium. The Noctem soldiers in the city were totally blindsided, completely unprepared to deal with a wave of over a hundred republic fighters at once. Many drew their weapons to fight, only to instantly be killed by the republic soldiers, whose adrenaline levels had been inflated to the maximum in anticipation of the attack. Most of the Noctems realized that there was no sense in fighting, and instead fell back toward the center of the city, as if the Town Hall was a huge magnet that was drawing them in.

“Don't follow them!” Stan cried out, as his soldiers sprinted back and forth around him as if he were standing in the center of a highway during rush hour. “Spread out and occupy the streets! We need to establish a presence across the entire village if we're going to secure it!”

Stan looked around, and his eyes landed on Kat, who was busy telling her troops where they were to go. He jogged over to meet her.

“Hey!” he panted as he reached her. “So far so good, I'd say.”

“Yeah,” she agreed as she looked around, surveying the distribution of the republic troops through the streets. “We're lucky this village isn't very big. There aren't that many streets to occupy.”

“True,” Stan said hastily. “Come on, we've got to hurry. They're all falling back to the Town Hall. That's probably where they're going to mount most of their defenses. We've got to get over there fast, before they dig in their heels too deep.”

“Right,” Kat nodded. “You grab a group of players and get to the Town Hall. I'll grab everyone else to help you.”

“Sounds good!” yelled Stan, already taking off to a mass of troops. They were standing in the middle of the road, weapons drawn, on standby and waiting for orders from the commanders.

“Come on!” Stan cried, and all the fighters turned to look at him. “Follow me to the Town Hall!”

The giant mass of players proceeded to run behind Stan as he hustled down the main road of the Adorian Village. All the houses now appeared to be empty, and the streets were deserted except for Stan and his men as they rushed into battle. Before long, they burst into the town square and laid eyes on the Town Hall.

The brick-block structure stood proudly in the center of the Adorian Village; while not a particularly tall building, it still towered over the other structures in the humble town. Stan watched as the last of the Noctem troops rushed through the iron double doors of the building. When the last of them had entered, the doors slammed shut, and the whir of redstone mechanics began to hum in Stan's ears. An instant
later, the gravel around the base of the brick building sunk down, revealing a moat of lava ten blocks thick that stretched around the entirety of the Town Hall.

Stan was simultaneously impressed and infuriated. The Noctems had clearly been well trained in what to do in case of a surprise attack, and it wouldn't surprise him if the interior of the Town Hall was laced with booby traps, making it extremely difficult to break into.

Suddenly, alarm bells went off in his head as Stan realized that the Noctems were now standing on top of the Town Hall. Bows were drawn, fire charges and potions were held in their hands, and TNT cannons were being aimed down at Stan and his men, loaded and prepared to fire. However, Stan's eye was immediately drawn to the men who were standing with buckets of molten lava. All together, they tipped over their lava buckets, attaching source blocks of lava to the outside of the building. An infinite flow of lava began to rush out of the source blocks, pouring down the side of the Town Hall and eventually into the lava moat below.

The Town Hall now stood surrounded in lava, the molten liquid covering the base in an impenetrable wall of liquid fire. Stan had to give credit where credit was due; this was a superb plan. He certainly wouldn't be able to get in there without the fight of his life.

“Stan! What happened here?”

Stan turned around and saw Kat, Rex, Leonidas, Commander Crunch, Cassandrix, the Mechanist, Ben, and Sirus, with the entire invasion force behind them. All were staring in awe at the giant cube of molten liquid that was the Town Hall.

“I'll tell you what happened,” Stan replied gravely. “They've just set up one of the best defenses I've ever seen. I have no idea how we're going to get in there now.”

“Aye, leave it t' me, laddies,” Commander Crunch growled, a grin on his face and a manic glint in his eye. “I've seen this before. I know how we be gettin' past that wall o' lava.”

“You've seen this before?” Ben demanded incredulously.

“Eleven times, as a matter o' fact. Now
charge
!”

And with that, Commander Crunch drew his sword and rushed forward, directly toward the lava moat. A large chunk of the mass of troops broke off and followed after him, charging directly toward the bastille of fire. It wasn't long before arrows and fire charges started to rain down from the roof into the mass of oncoming troops, and the blasts of the TNT cannons started to follow.

“Come on, let's cover him!” Cassandrix cried, and with that, all the remaining troops drew their bows, and started to rain arrows onto the roof of the Town Hall. As they did, the fire from above spread out, now reaching them as well as Commander Crunch's troops. Stan's soldiers found that they had to spread out and encircle the Town Hall, so they could
continue with their suppressive fire and not be a massive target.

“This would be so much easier if we could just blow our way in there,” the Mechanist said, as he let loose another arrow. He turned to Ben, who was fighting next to him. “I don't suppose anybody has any TNT or redstone on hand?”

“No,” Ben said back, harsher than the Mechanist was expecting. “We used it all up while we were making the bunker.” He drew another arrow, targeting the operator of one of the TNT cannons on the roof. He fired his bow, only to miss.

“Not that you would know,” he grumbled under his breath as he loaded another arrow. Though it was soft, the Mechanist heard this, and gave a great sigh as he loaded another arrow.

Commander Crunch's men were nearly at the wall of the Town Hall now. They had pulled cobblestone blocks out of their inventory and were building a narrow bridge across the lava moat. Each time one of the soldiers was hit by an arrow and knocked into the lava, another would step forward to take his place. Commander Crunch stood at the front, sword drawn, spinning it around like an expert as he deflected the arrows that were flying out of the lava flow and directly at them. Although these arrows made building the bridge very difficult, Commander Crunch was glad that the Noctem Troops were firing at them from within the building. If they
weren't, he would never be able to figure out where the doors were, as they were hidden behind the flow of lava.

Finally, the bridge reached the wall. Commander Crunch spun his sword around like a helicopter, deflecting all the arrows that he could, and even then allowing some to glance off his iron chestplate or fly back into the horde of soldiers behind them. This created an opportunity for a soldier behind him to reach up and place two cobblestone blocks on the wall above Commander Crunch's head. Instantly, the lava parted over the two blocks and was diverted to the sides, opening up a gap in the lavafall. Behind the gap were two open iron doors through which the arrows were flying.

The second the doors were no longer covered by lava, a flow of Noctem troops started to flow out to attack Commander Crunch and his men. Sensing that now was the time to help, Stan shouted an order back to his men and sprinted toward the cobblestone bridge. As he ran across the open gravel road, the firestorm of arrows, fire charges, and TNT blocks intensified, but Stan pressed onward, knowing that all they had to do was get inside the building to escape the onslaught from above.

Finally, they reached the bridge, and didn't break pace as they dashed down the two-block-wide cobblestone passage. As they approached the Town Hall, Stan could see the fighting going on inside, but he could also see something that
made his heart stop. There, sitting at the end of the bridge alongside the inventories of those who had been killed, lay Commander Crunch, his hand clenched to his stomach and his shattered iron chestplate beside him. Stan gestured for the rest of his men to sprint inside and join the fight, but he knelt down beside Commander Crunch.

“Are you okay?” Stan asked desperately.